There is nothing like summer vacation as a teenager! With summer comes endless possibilities. It can be a chance to laze around and catch up on all of that terrible TV you missed during the school year, or it can be a learning and growing experience in your own community. Leave the couch behind and spend time volunteering this summer. Volunteering can help you learn new skills, understand more about your professional interests, and give you something to put on your resume for college applications and future paid positions!
Read on for summer volunteer ideas for teens.
Nursing Homes Why turn to your television for a good story this summer, when you could hear real life experiences from seniors in your local retirement community? Being around young people helps old people recreate memories. Volunteer tasks at nursing homes could include: office work; setting up the dining room; pushing wheelchairs; playing checkers, cards, and puzzles; having a conversation; delivering mail; helping write letters; reading aloud; cooking projects, and art projects.
Camp Consider volunteering at a nearby summer camp. Even if you’re too young to be a paid full-time counselor, look into counselor-in-training programs at a camp you’ve attended. CITs are usually 16 or 17 years old, depending on the camp. Volunteering at a camp combines the experience of volunteering with the fun of summer camp!
Hospitals If you’re interested in medicine, volunteering at your local hospital might be just the thing for you. Just call a hospital in your area and ask to speak to the volunteer coordinator. Volunteer tasks at hospitals keep it fresh, with tasks varying from stocking supplies, transporting patients with a nurse, making some pharmacy deliveries, bringing books to patients, sitting and talking to patients, and reading to patients.
Animal Shelters Why coo over pictures of cute animals online when you could play with them at your local animal shelter? Local animal shelters and vets are a great place to start looking for opportunities. Volunteer tasks may range from walking or playing with the animals, answering phones, escorting animals in and out, and cleaning the kennels. Look up veterinary offices and animal shelters and hospitals in your area and ask to speak to the office manager how you can help.
Libraries If you’re a big reader or just looking for a cool place to escape the summer sun, volunteering at your local library might be right for you. Library volunteers work in a variety of positions including the computer center, re-shelving books, and aiding with the children’s programs. Ask to speak to someone in volunteer services at your local library.
Are you volunteering somewhere during your summer vacation? Let us know in the comments below!
Summer is just around the corner and students are ready to escape from the tedium of school. Summer vacation is a great time for kids to take a break from homework and grades, but it’s an even better time to engage in a different kind of learning – service learning! Volunteering has countless benefits for kids and teens. It helps develop important skills, including critical thinking, organizing, and collaboration and increases self-confidence. Teens learn to critically think about the world around them through hands-on work that benefits others. Volunteer jobs can even lead to future careers!
During the summer, families tend to have more time together. Children are on summer break and parents are planning vacations. If volunteering as a family is part of your summer plans, here are ten tips to make volunteering as a family more fun!
Celebrate! What a great achievement! Awesome! You just volunteered together! Take some time to do something special together as a family! Take a walk together, have an ice cream, or make a special meal. It doesn’t matter if you volunteered for an hour or a whole day, celebrate together!
Plan for changing weather. Keep an eye on the weather reports a few days before your project and up to your project day. Weather in the summer can turn from bright and sunny to clouds and rain very quickly. Make sure you’re prepared for possible changes in the weather.
Water. When you’re working in the sun it’s important to make sure you’re drinking enough water. Make sure there’s plenty of water for the volunteers that you’ll have on site, and make sure that they take a minute or two for themselves to drink water throughout the day. Even if they don’t think they’re thirsty, encourage volunteers to drink something. Staying hydrated helps volunteers to stay sharp and safe.
northern hemisphere. On those days when I am covered in a fine mist of perspiration before 8:00 am and when the evenings are punctuated with the sparkle of fire flies, I find myself recalling a time – long before I became a card-carrying soccer mom and non-profit junkie – when summertime involved the uniquely delightful experience of drinking a very cold beer on a very hot day.
rent life doesn’t involve much time for beer drinking but does include lots of time supporting an organization that catalyzes folks across the country to volunteer in their communities, I started to ponder why I am even more happy now than I was when I used to drink more beer. Hmmmm….
